Scrutiny Of CPPS 'Inconsistent'

Partnerships which bring together councils, health boards and other bodies to provide better community services are failing to achieve their full potential, a report has found.

Community planning partnerships (CPPs) were set up more than a decade ago to link up key public, private and voluntary services.

A review of community planning by the Scottish Government in 2012 produced a statement of ambition'', stating that effective planning would be at the core of public service reform.

But an Audit Scotland report for the Accounts Commission has found that many CPPs are still not clear about what they are expected to achieve.

It found that leadership, scrutiny and challenge remain inconsistent'', and there is confusion over whether CPPs should focus on local needs or delivering national priorities.

The report also found that there is a lack of coherent national framework for assessing the performance of CPPs means there is no overall picture of how individual CPPs are performing.

It said the Scottish Government needs to be more consistent in holding central government bodies and the NHS to account for their contributions to community planning.

Douglas Sinclair, chair of the Accounts Commission, said: There has been encouraging progress over the last year but community planning is still a long way from achieving its full potential.

The key to a successful partnership is building mutual trust. That's not easy when each partner organisation has its own priorities and structures.

With strong leadership, partnerships can then agree clear priorities provide effective challenge and deliver change on the ground.''

Caroline Gardner, Auditor General for Scotland, said: CPPs now face a double squeeze - much more is expected of them at a time of much tighter public finances.

That means difficult choices for them, particularly over moving resources to longer-term prevention when still meeting current demands.

This makes it all the more important that they make effective use of information to identify local needs and target resources appropriately.''